John Swinney has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to reconsider plans to change the state pension triple lock, citing an official estimate that Scottish pensioners could receive £4 billion less a year by 2049/50 than under the current system.
Burnham announced at the Labour Party conference that pensions would rise in line with CPI inflation or by at least 2.5%, removing the link to average earnings. The UK Government plans to use the change to fund a National Care Service.
The UK Government estimates the change would save £15 billion annually across the UK by 2039/40, rising to £50 billion by 2049/50. An estimate based on Scotland’s share of the pension-age population puts the potential annual difference for Scottish pensioners at about £1.3 billion by 2039/40. Swinney said individual pensioners’ incomes would be almost £2,000 lower in real terms.
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